Dusk
by A Bit Queer
Summary: Twilight with a Bellice twist. OOC.
1. Chapter 1

After arriving at Forks High School, it took Bella Swan only two minutes to decide that she was not a fan. The first minute after she pulled up to the parking lot was spent sitting in her car, rummaging through her backpack to make sure she had everything she needed. A useless exercise, she admitted to herself, since she did not have time to run back home and grab anything she was missing.

It was the second minute that created her first impression of the school. The moment she stepped out of her faded red truck, it seemed all the students in the parking lot were staring at her. She ran a hand through her shoulder-length wavy brown hair, stuck one hand in the pocket of her faded blue jeans, and started the walk towards the office while pretending not to notice the stares. A few steps in, she was approached by a young looking boy with spiky blonde hair who introduced himself as Mike.

"You must be Isabella Swan. Chief Swan's daughter. Just moved here from Phoenix."

Bella wasn't sure why Mike was reciting these facts to her — maybe just to drive home how small a town Forks was — but she offered a small nod as she continued on towards the office. Mike followed Bella for another eight minutes: he waited outside the office when she went in to get her schedule, and then he took it upon himself to walk Bella to her locker, and then to her first class. She did not utter a word to Mike in the entire ten minutes he followed her, but he managed to keep talking the entire time regardless. Thankfully, he was not in the first class and Bella waved him off before walking inside.

Since she was walking into class just a couple minutes before the bell, most students were already inside. So was the teacher, Mr. Mason, who signed Bella's schedule and then gestured towards the back of the classroom. "You'll be seated next to Alice," he informed Bella. "She has agreed to catch you up on what we've done so far and to be your partner for the class presentation, which is 20% of your grade. You can find more information in the syllabus and of course you should discuss it with Alice as soon as possible."

Bella turned around to see a pale girl sitting next to the unoccupied corner desk in the back of the classroom. Alice was sitting completely still in her seat, with her eyes closed and a look of concentration on her face. As she walked over, Bella took the opportunity to study Alice, who she could tell from her first glance was uncommonly beautiful. Her skin was smooth and, although it looked abnormally pale, her skin tone contrasted nicely with her jet black hair which was cut into a stylish a-line bob. She was sitting down so Bella couldn't tell for sure, but Alice looked like she was probably a few inches shorter than Bella. She was wearing a pair of black jeans and a fitted blue blouse that showed off her slender figure. Alice opened her eyes when Bella was halfway across the room, and upon noticing Bella she gave a small wave. The look of concentration did not leave her face, but what really caught Bella's attention when Alice opened her eyes was their color. Shining brightly, framed by purplish bags that indicated lack of sleep, the eyes Alice trained on Bella as she approached were a brilliant gold.

"Hello," Bella accompanied the word with a small wave of her own. "I'm Bella."

"Hi Bella! I'm Alice." Alice's voice was high and lilting, with the hint of a southern accent. She smiled at Bella, but it seemed a little forced. "It is an absolute pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. Mr. Mason said we would be partners for the project..."

"Wonderful! I had been stuck by myself since there is an odd number of us in the class, so it will be great to have you as a partner. Is it okay if we exchange numbers so we can discuss the project later over the phone?"

Bella took out her phone and reached across the aisle to hand it to Alice, who seemed a little stiff as she reached out to take it and exchange it with her own. The smile had once more been replaced by the look of intense concentration, and Bella had no idea what to make of this girl. As they returned each other's phones after entering their numbers, Bella accidentally brushed Alice's hand and was surprised at how chilly it felt. Alice retracted her hand quickly, gave Bella another forced smile, and then went back to closing her eyes before class started.

English was otherwise uneventful, though Bella spent most of it curious about Alice. Alice's demeanor made her seem distracted or upset, but she had been perfectly polite to Bella. It was an odd interaction which left Bella feeling uncertain about whether she was the reason Alice was upset, or she just caught her at a bad time. It was a little weird that Alice had specifically mentioned discussing the project over the phone rather than in person. Maybe she had taken one look at Bella's faded t-shirt and scuffed shoes and decided she did not want to spend time around her. Whatever the reason, Bella was pulled from her thoughts when the bell rang. She turned towards Alice's desk, intending to ask her if she wanted to get together in person instead, but Alice was already across the classroom. Given the size of the heels she was wearing, Bella was impressed at the girl's speed.

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 **A/N:** **Reviews are always appreciated and great motivators.**


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of Bella's morning classes were even less eventful, although she did meet even more students who took it upon themselves to remind her where she was from and who her father was. Her last class before lunch was math, and the teacher, Mr. Varner, had her sit in the front of the classroom next to a short girl with light brown hair and glasses. The girl gave her a small but friendly smile when she sat down.

"Hi, I'm Angela."

"I'm Bella. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Bella. Welcome to Forks! Please let me know if you need anything, I would be happy to show you around or help you get up to speed with schoolwork."

Angela was soft-spoken, but her offer seemed genuine and it was the first completely normal interaction Bella had all day. They had a few minutes to chat before the bell rang, but then they had to focus on the Trig lecture. After class, Angela invited Bella to sit with her and her friends at lunch and the two girls walked to the cafeteria together. Unfortunately, Angela's friends included Mike from earlier that morning, but Bella figured that he had to have some redeeming qualities if Angela was friends with him. She was also introduced to the other two boys at the table, Eric and Ben. There was also a tall girl with blue eyes and dark brown hair who cut Angela off before she could be introduced.

"Isabella, right? Chief Swan's daughter? I'm Jessica."

"Just Bella," she corrected. She wasn't sure why people felt the need to confirm who her father was, since it was clear everyone already knew. Such was life in a small town she supposed - she wouldn't be surprised if everyone in here also knew her shoe size.

"Anyway, I was just telling the boys about the totally weird thing that happened first period with one of the Cullens." Bella's confusion must have shown because Jessica noticed and switched gears to give some background. "The Cullens are like this totally weird family that moved to Forks last year. Dr. Cullen works at the hospital and his wife is like an event planner, not that there are many events to plan in Forks. Their kids are all adopted but they are all pale and the entire family wears these gold contacts. Plus, the oldest two are _dating_. It's like totally weird."

"I'm not sure if I'm understanding. You're saying the Cullens are like a little weird?"

"They're like _totally_ weird," Jessica corrected seriously.

Angela, Eric, and Ben chuckled at Bella's teasing and Jessica's obliviousness. Mike was not paying attention, distracted by something behind Bella. She turned around to see what was distracting him and found herself staring at three students who were just as uncommonly beautiful as Alice had been. Leading the group was a tall, statuesque blonde wearing a red dress that seemed like it just barely complied with the dress code. Just behind her was a massive, muscular boy with curly brown hair, and walking next to him was a slightly shorter, somewhat lanky bronze haired boy. Other than the abnormally pale skin and gold eyes that all three sported, they looked like a walking Abercrombie commercial. There were two missing, but Bella had no doubt that these were the Cullens and that Alice was one of the missing two. As she turned back around, Jessica wasted no time in confirming this.

"Speak of the devil, here they are. Jasper and Alice are missing. The blond girl is Rosalie. She's dating the big guy, Emmett." Here, Jessica gave an exaggerated shudder of disgust. "The smaller guy next to him is Edward. Edward is a jerk."

"Jessica asked him out once and he rejected her," Eric added helpfully.

Bella laughed as she watched Jessica swat Eric's arm in annoyance at his comment. Perhaps Forks High School would not be as bad as she thought. She was not sure she actually liked Jessica or Mike, and she didn't have much of an opportunity to interact with the others, but they all seemed mostly normal and mildly entertaining.

"Whatever Eric," Jessica continued. "I was about to tell you all how totally weird Jasper was this morning. He walked into Mr. Varner's classroom a few minutes before class, put his bag down on the desk and started to sit down, but then like all of a sudden he ran for the door. But before he actually left the room he stopped and like turned around and just stared at Mr. Varner like a psycho for a few seconds. He looked like he was going to run back in and jump Varner - it was like kind of scary. Then he just ended up running away and didn't come back. And then after class, like two seconds after the bell rang, Alice, who I guess had class next door in Mr. Mason's room, just walks in and grabs Jasper's bag. I thought she was going to at least say something to Mr. Varner to explain, but she just like ignored everyone and speed walked away with his bag."

As everyone began to discuss the possible reasons for Jasper's behavior, Bella glanced over at the table where the three Cullens had settled. Despite the stares she had been getting all day, she was still surprised to see all three Cullens looking at her. Emmet and Edward just looked curious, but Rosalie was full on glaring at her, though Bella wasn't sure what she could possibly have done to offend the beautiful blonde. Bella looked away and tuned into the discussion at the table, half listening to Eric's theory about what had happened to Jasper - something involving zombies. To be honest, Bella was more curious about Alice's part in the story. As far as Bella remembered, Alice didn't have a phone out during first period, not even when she was practically running out of the room, but she somehow knew to go straight to Mr. Varner's room to pick up Jasper's bag. It was, as Jessica would say, like totally weird.


End file.
